Slovenia is a country in Central Europe that was part of Yugoslavia for most of the 20th century. Slovenia is a small country made up of parts of four major European geographical landscapes: the European Alps, the karst Dinaric Alps, the Pannonian and Danube plains and hills, and the Mediterranean coast. Easily accessible from today's Slovenian territory, mountain passes have long served as routes for those crossing the Mediterranean and Europe.
Ljubljana, the favorite city of Slovenia, is the capital of Slovenia and also the economic, political and cultural center of the region. Situated on the Ljubljanica River, the city is located in central Slovenia and is located in a natural depression surrounded by the high peaks of the Julian Alps.
B.C. A walled Roman camp was built here by Roman legionnaires in the mid-1st century and turned into the settlement of Emona (also known as Iulia Aemona), although the area was previously converted into a settlement of around 1,000 by the Veneti, Illyrians, and Celts. B.C. Ljubljana, on the way to Pannonia, was occupied by Attila in the middle of the 5th century. Slovenian Slavic tribes migrating to the west said that the name was recorded first as Laibach (around 1144) and later as Luvigana (around 1146), and they rebuilt it in the 12th century. In 1220 it regained its city rights.
At the end of the 13th century, the administration passed to the Habsburgs, so in 1335 Ljubljana became the capital of the Habsburg-Austrian province Carniola. From 1461 Ljubljana was the seat of a bishop, later taken by the French in 1809. Along with this, it became the government center of the Illyrian Provinces. In 1821, the Laibach Congress, a meeting of members of the Holy Alliance, was held in Ljubljana. The completion of the Southern (also known as Vienna-Trieste) railway line in 1849 spurred the economic and cultural growth of Ljubljana, which had become the center of Slovenian nationalism under Austrian rule. Ljubljana gained a sugar refinery, a brewery, a foundry and a paper and textile mill.
Foreign rule came to an end in 1918 when Ljubljana and Slovenia became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (which later became territories of Yugoslavia). In 1941, Italian troops began to occupy the city, and after the World War between the countries, Ljubljana went through an important period of industrialization and modernization. An airport was first built in this city, and then a road tunnel was built under Kale Hill. When Slovenia gained its independence in 1991, Ljubljana also became the national capital of Slovenia.
Ljubljana and Modernity
Ljubljana is dominated by a medieval castle from the 12th century, and the city's old quarter is located between the castle and the river. Only a few old buildings in the Austrian Baroque style survived a severe earthquake in 1895. The subsequent rebuilding of the city, especially the buildings designed by Art Nouveau architect Josef Plečnik, gave Ljubljana a rather modern look. The city also received a grid pattern. Thin stone bridges such as Tromostovje (meaning Triple Bridge) were built across the river.
Ljubljana is an important rail and road communication hub with Austria, Croatia, Hungary and Italy, but also includes several factories in industries such as pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, food processing and electronics. A popular attraction is Tivoli Park, which was built in the 19th century and underwent significant changes in the 1920s and 1930s. The city's leading educational institution is the University of Ljubljana (1919); The National and University Library, the Joef Stefan Institute and the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts are also located in the city. A philharmonic, one of the first outside Italy, was founded in 1701. Among the city's many fine museums and galleries are the National Museum of Slovenia, the Natural History Museum of Slovenia, the National Gallery and the Gallery of Modern Art, as well as smaller museums centered on architecture, contemporary history and ethnography, an opera house, and several theatres.
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